PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT In 1996, a group of national HIV organizations came together to create the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) - then known as the National Skills Building Conference. Led by NMAC, this coalition understood the value of bringing together the diverse communities impacted by the disease to be educated on the latest science, build support and bring hope to people facing an epidemic. As one of the largest domestic HIV/AIDS conferences with a community focus, USCA receives an average attendance of 3,000 people each year. Attendees include case managers, representatives from local, state and federal government, capacity building providers, researchers, representatives from national AIDS services organizations, pharmaceutical representatives, peer navigators and people living with HIV. Skills building takes place in the form of over 100, 2-hour workshops, 25 posters and 4 plenary sessions. USCA is held every other year in Washington, DC to ensure the maximum possible participation by federal representatives. In 2018, USCA was held in Orlando, FL. This year, it will return to Washington, DC from September 5-8 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel. USCA focuses on a range of HIV/AIDS issues and there are a number of ways content is developed and organized for the conference including pathway sessions, conference tracks and through the submission of abstracts. Pathways include 4 workshops on a particular topic that are created by recognized leaders in that area. The conference includes 22 pathway sessions on a variety of topics, such as aging, structural interventions, and youth. Several federal agencies, including CDC, HRSA and HHS? Secretary?s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund, have partnered with USCA to conduct pathways for previous conferences. Other workshops and poster sessions are filled through a call for abstract submissions, which are reviewed by committees comprised of experts in their respective fields. In addition to pathways, the conference is organized by Conference Tracks, which feature workshops and poster sessions in the areas of biomedical HIV prevention, gay men, leadership, people living with HIV, stigma and public policy. Each year, Tracks and Pathway topics are reviewed and updated, as needed, to reflect current issues and OAR HIV/AIDS Priorities. At the 2019 USCA, NMAC will partner with the DC CFAR to host a pathway of workshops on HIV treatment. Conference support from the NIH R13 grant will be used to support this collaboration and to fund scholarships that will include people living with HIV over 50, cis and trans women, emerging youth leaders and people of color. As collaborators, the DC CFAR leadership and HIV investigators from eight DC-based institutions are available to contribute their guidance and expertise as NMAC develops the 2019 agenda.